Atelie Ekuto: Sustainable Japanese Pavillion, Gondar, Ethiopia

Just found this great project on design boom and had to reblog. I particularly like the use of local materials and building methods, a topic that is not discussed enough in LEED circles. In this case local materials are used out of necessity, but I think we should all be incorporating more local building materials in our projects. Why should I build a house in the Pacific Northwest with lumber from South America!

The model project for sustainable and recyclable architecture used traditional old wooden japanese houses that were dismantled and transplanted to the city redesigned using local resources.

With this project it was calculated that transporting and reusing the houses instead
of dismantling and burning them reduces carbon dioxide emissions by a maximum
of 8.4 tonnes. in view of existing regional infrastructure, a rainwater purification
system was installed. electricity needed for lighting and operating water pumps
will come from the solar panel system affixed to the roof. within the site there are
also traditional ethiopian circular stone houses which will be relocated to become

part of the japanese pavillion. it will be used for vocational training for residents.